The boys basketball team lost to cross-town rival the B-CC Barons (1-7), 40-38, on a buzzer beating shot to drop their record to 4-6 on Jan. 4.
The Vikings started off the game poorly by giving up a quick two-point shot and losing the ball out of bounds on their first offensive possession. However, power forward Dan Duffy made a two-point shot of his own that tied the game up early. Small forward Daniel Voigt scored his 100th point of the season on a free-throw that gave the Vikings their first lead of the game. The Barons ended the first quarter on a 9-5 run that gave them a 3-point lead heading into the second quarter.
Back-to-back 3 pointers by guard Bryan Joel and Voigt put the Vikings back in the lead, 16-15, with a little over 3 minutes remaining in the half. However, the Barons came back 18-16 entering halftime.
Voigt started the second half by stealing the ball from a Barons player and working his way down the court to nail a 3-pointer. However, the Vikings continued to turn the ball over and the Barons put together a 9-0 run that built an 8 point Baron lead. The boys were only able to chip away 3 points from the Baron’s lead and entered the final quarter of play down by 5 points.
The Vikings battled back throughout most of the fourth quarter and were able to stay within 4 points of the Barons all period long. With less than 2 minutes left in the game, center Ian Ross scored 4 points in a row and tied the game at 36. Joel stole a pass from a Baron player and took it down the court. He was fouled on the play and preceded to make both his shots to give the Vikings a 1 point lead with 44 seconds to go.
However, the Barons rebounded a missed free throw attempt with 11 seconds left and headed down the court for their final possession. The Barons were able to rebound their first shot and passed it out to Doug Pierce who nailed the three-point shot to give the Barons their first win of the season.
Voigt once again led the team in scoring with 12 points. Joel added 11 points, while Ross scored all 8 of his points in the second half.
Despite the loss and the scoring trouble the Vikings have face, Coach Chris Lun was able to find some positive points to build on.
“I was very pleased with our intensity and effort on the defensive end,” Lun said. “When you hold a team to 40 points, you have to find a way to win that game. This was the first game that I felt we competed hard for 32 minutes on the defensive end.”
The boy’s losing streak has now climbed to 5 games. The Vikings lost 2 games in the Golds Gym Holiday Hoopfest in West Virginia on Dec. 28 and 29. The boys lost to host team Hedgesville, 57-35, and St. Albans, 52-41.
The boys look to end their losing streak when they take on the Northwest Jaguars away on Jan. 7.
Lun acknowledges the significance of bouncing back from a heartbreaking loss in a division match up against the Jaguars.
“There are one of two ways we can go,” Lun said. “We can put our heads down and pout, or we can come out fighting. I know our guys will use this as motivation and we can get a lot better.”
